NBC Olympics to offer unprecedented coverage of U.S. Olympic Team Trials across all sports

STAMFORD, Conn. – March 28, 2016 – NBC Olympics will present an unprecedented 76 hours of coverage of the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials across NBC, NBCSN and NBC Sports Live Extra – including more than 60 hours of coverage in primetime – in the months leading up to the Games of the XXXI Olympiad in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. NBC Olympics’ Trials coverage spans nine sports – swimming, track and field, gymnastics, diving, rowing, wrestling, water polo, field hockey, and volleyball.

Trials coverage begins on Saturday, April 9, at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN with wrestling from Iowa City, Iowa, and concludes on Monday, July 18, at 6:30 p.m. ET with field hockey from Lancaster, Pa. NBC Sports has already provided live coverage of the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials from Los Angeles and the Women’s Olympic Volleyball Qualification Tournament, where the U.S. qualified for the Rio Games.

All events will be live streamed across NBC Sports Live Extra -- NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, tablets, and connected TVs.

“As the U.S. Olympic rights holder through 2032, the Olympic Trials are a key component to our overall Olympic strategy,” said Peter Diamond, Executive Vice President, Programming, NBC Olympics. “This year, fans will be able to watch more of the compelling Trials coverage than ever before, as our nation’s most talented athletes strive to represent the United States in Rio.”

WRESTLING

NBCSN will provide five hours of Trials coverage of the wrestling finals from Iowa City, Iowa, beginning Saturday, April 9, live at 7 p.m. ET. Coverage continues the following evening, Sunday, April 10, at 10:30 p.m. ET, following NHL coverage. Disciplines include men’s freestyle, women’s freestyle, and Greco-Roman.

Headlining the men’s freestyle competition is London gold medalist and three-time world champion Jordan Burroughs (74 kg). The 97 kg weight class will feature 2015 World Champion Kyle Snyder and 2012 Olympic champion Jake Varner. In women’s freestyle, three-time world champion Adeline Gray (75 kg) looks to make her first Olympic team.

NBC Olympics’ 76 hours of comprehensive coverage marks the most ever for the U.S. Olympic Trials, topping the 67.5 hours of coverage in 2012, and will feature some of the most anticipated stories and athletes of the Rio Olympics, including:

• Swimming – Michael Phelps, a four-time Olympian who stands alone as the most-decorated Olympian of all time with 22 medals spanning three Games; 11-time Olympic medalist Ryan Lochte; Olympic gold medalist and nine-time world champion Katie Ledecky; and four-time Olympic gold medalist Missy Franklin;

• Gymnastics – Three-time reigning world all-around champion Simone Biles; reigning Olympic all-around gold medalist Gabrielle “Gabby” Douglas, and 2012 Olympic floor exercise gold medalist Aly Raisman, both members of the Fierce Five who won Team USA’s second women’s Olympic team gold;

• Track and Field – four-time Olympic gold medalist Allyson Felix; 2012 Olympic decathlon gold medalist Ashton Eaton; 2004 Olympic 100m gold medalist Justin Gatlin; and 2012 Olympic 10,000m silver medalist Galen Rupp.

ROWING

NBCSN will provide Trials coverage of the finals in several events on Sunday, May 8, at 5 p.m. ET, from Sarasota, Fla. 2012 Olympian Gevvie Stone will look to make her second Olympic team in the women’s single sculls event.

DIVING

NBC and NBCSN’s 19.5 hours of live Trials coverage in diving is highlighted by eight nights in primetime, including six consecutive nights on NBCSN and two on NBC. Coverage begins Saturday, June 18, at 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN with the synchronized men’s springboard and synchronized women’s platform semifinals. NBCSN’s coverage airs in primetime through Thursday, June 23, and will feature the synchronized semifinals and finals, as well as the men’s and women’s springboard and platform semifinals.

NBC’s coverage of the finals begins Saturday, June 25, at 4:30 p.m. ET, and continues in primetime at 8 p.m. ET. Finals coverage on Sunday, June 26, begins at 4:30 p.m. ET, and continues at 7 p.m. ET.

David Boudia earned a gold medal for the U.S. in the men’s platform in London, and, overall, the U.S. men’s and women’s squads won four medals, second best behind China (10).

GYMNASTICS

NBC and NBCSN will combine to present nine hours of primetime Trials coverage from St. Louis, Mo. (men’s Trials), and San Jose, Calif. (women’s Trials), including three primetime telecasts on NBC. Coverage of the men’s Trials begins Thursday, June 23, at 8:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, and continues on NBC on Saturday, June 25, at 9 p.m. ET. NBC’s coverage of the women’s Trials from San Jose begins Friday, July 8, at 9 p.m. ET, and continues on Sunday, July 10, at 8:30 p.m. ET.

Simone Biles will look to make her Olympic debut in Rio on the heels of three consecutive U.S. and world all-around championship titles (2013-15). Gabby Douglas won the individual all-around gold medal at the London Games. Douglas and Aly Raisman, who earned the gold medal on floor exercise, were a part of the “Fierce Five” U.S. women’s gymnastics squad that took home the team gold medal in London. Danell Leyva earned a bronze medal for Team USA in the men’s all-around in 2012, while three-time reigning U.S. all-around champion Sam Mikulak will look to make his second Olympic appearance in Rio. Newcomer Donnell Whittenburg, who was second at the 2016 AT&T American Cup, is also expected to be a contender.

In addition to its Trials coverage of gymnastics, NBC Sports Group will televise coverage of P&G Men’s and Women’s Gymnastics Championships. The P&G Men’s Gymnastics Championships will be telecast on Sunday, June 5 at 2 p.m. ET on NBC from Hartford, Conn., while NBC will air a pair of live primetime presentations of the P&G Women’s Gymnastics Championships from St. Louis, Mo., on Friday, June 24, and Sunday, June 26, at 9 p.m. ET.

SWIMMING

NBC Olympics will present eight consecutive nights of swimming Trials action in primetime, including seven primetime telecasts on NBC. NBC and NBCSN’s 15.5 hours of coverage commences on Sunday, June 26, and runs through Sunday, July 3. Seven nights of live primetime coverage will air on NBC, with primetime coverage on Saturday, July 2, airing from 8-9 p.m. ET on NBCSN. NBCSN will also telecast daily qualifying heats.

Team USA hopes to build off of its dominant performance in London, where it won a total of 31 medals. Michael Phelps will look to add to his total of 22 Olympic medals, the most in Olympic history, while Ryan Lochte aims to add to his 11 total medals. Missy Franklin won four gold and five total medals in her Olympic debut in London, and nine-time world champion Katie Ledecky looks to add to her medal count after stunning the field by winning gold in the 800m free in 2012.

*coverage may include additional events

TRACK AND FIELD

NBC Olympics will provide 16.5 hours of Trials coverage in the semifinals and finals of track and field events, including seven primetime telecasts, five on NBC. Track and field Trials coverage begins on Friday, July 1, at 9 p.m. ET on NBC, with the finals in men’s shot put and 10,000m. NBC’s coverage continues Saturday, July 2, at 2 p.m. ET, with the finals in women’s 10,000m, long jump, and discus, and continues on NBCSN at 5 p.m. ET with coverage of the decathlon.

NBC’s coverage on Sunday, July 3, at 7 p.m. ET features the finals in men’s and women’s 100m and 400m, men’s long jump, and women’s high jump. The action shifts to NBCSN on Monday, July 4, at 7 p.m. ET with the finals in men’s and women’s 800m, as well as the men’s pole vault and javelin. NBCSN’s presentation on Thursday, July 7, at 8 p.m. ET includes the finals in women’s steeplechase, shot put, and triple jump.

NBCSN’s Trials coverage on Friday, July 8, begins at 6 p.m. ET, showcasing the semifinals of men’s 1500m, women’s 100m hurdles, and men’s and women’s 400m hurdles, and continues on NBC at 8 p.m. ET with the finals of women’s 100m hurdles, and men’s discus and steeplechase. NBC’s coverage on Saturday, July 9, at 8 p.m. ET includes the finals in men’s 110m hurdles, 200m, 5000m, triple jump, and women’s javelin. Sunday’s coverage will highlight the finals in the men’s and women’s 1500m, men’s and women’s 400m hurdles, women’s 200m, and men’s high jump.

*coverage may include additional events

WATER POLO & FIELD HOCKEY

As part of NBC Olympics’ Trials coverage, NBCSN will also present live matchups in men’s and women’s water polo and women’s field hockey leading into the Rio Games. The U.S. men’s and women’s water polo squads will each face off against Australia on Sunday, May 22, beginning at 4 p.m. ET. In addition, the U.S. women’s field hockey squad will face off against India on Monday, July 18, at 6:30 p.m. ET in Lancaster, Pa., on NBCSN.

The U.S. men’s water polo team last won a silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Games. The U.S. women won defeated Australia in overtime in the semifinals of the 2012 London Games, en route to their first gold medal. 

NBC SPORTS LIVE EXTRA

All of NBC Olympics’ U.S. Trials coverage will be streamed on NBC Sports Live Extra via “TV Everywhere,” giving consumers additional value for their subscription service, and making high quality content available to MVPD customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms. The NBC Sports Live Extra app is available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku, Apple TV and Amazon Fire.

2016 U.S. OLYMPIC TRIALS TELECAST SCHEDULE

*coverage may include additional events

**all times Eastern

***NBC and NBCSN aired Trials coverage of men’s and women’s marathon and women’s volleyball earlier this year